1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the production of a piston for an internal combustion engine, having a ring-shaped cooling channel that lies radially on the outside, and a cooling chamber that lies in the center, comprising the following method steps:                forging a piston blank, from which an upper piston part and a lower piston part are formed,        separating the upper piston part from the lower piston part,        machining a piston part to form recesses for a ring-shaped cooling channel,        welding the upper piston part to the lower piston part,        finish-machining the piston to produce piston ring grooves, pin bores, and a combustion chamber bowl.        
2. The Prior Art
A method for the production of a piston for an internal combustion engine, of the type stated initially, is known from the U.S. patent application 2008/0127818. In this connection, after the piston blank is separated into pieces, both the part provided for the upper piston part and the part provided for the lower piston part must be machined using a cutting machining process, and this brings with it a not insignificant expenditure of time and costs.